1. Reflect on your current assessment practices. How have you been determining what students understand and what they are able to do?
I assess my students learning in many different ways during class as well as on assessments. In class I use a lot of questioning and phrase questions to the students so that they address different levels of thinking. I try to incorporate higher level questions to make my students think and use their knowledge of chemistry to apply it to a tougher problem rather then a simple recall question. Through questioning I can interpret which topics my students are having difficulties with so that I can review those topics in a different way so that all of my students will understand. I also have students write out and explain how they answered certain questions on the board so that other students can see how they should be thinking about a certain question. In my more formal assessments I try to have some easier, lower difficulty questions as well as a good amount of higher level questions which will cause my students to really apply the concepts that they have been learning about. I use the assessments to find out which topics I need to clear up before I move on to the next topic.
Examples of some "higher order questions" would be useful to understand what you're saying.
2. Describe the concept(s) that you are trying to assess in these assignments. Include a link to the appropriate GSE(s) on RIScienceTeachers. Be sure to include in your description your definition, examples of what it is, why students have difficulty with this concept, and why it is important that you teach this topic
PS1 (Ext.) - 1aa ---> Students demonstrate an understanding of characteristic properties of matter by explaining the states of a substance in terms of the particulate nature of matter and the forces of interaction between particles. There are a few misconceptions with intermolecular forces; each molecule only has one intermolecular force, if there is a hydrogen in a molecule it has hydrogen bonding, and also that if a molecule has a polar bond it is a polar molecule.
PS1 (9-11) - 4c ---> Students demonstrate an understanding of the structure of matter by explaining or modeling how the electron configuration of atoms governs how atoms interact with on another (e.g. covalent, hydrogen and ionic bonding). The misconceptions with this are very similar to the other GSE; students will confuse what type of bond is present in a molecule which effects the shape of a molecule which in turn effects the type of intermolecular forces that are present.
Links to GSEs would be nice.
3. (and 7) Describe an informal assessment that you selected, modified, or designed to address this concept. Summarize the instructions you gave your students and Include a link to the informal assessment here as well.
The informal assessment that I will be using is an online virtual lab called intermolecular attractions. In this activity the students used individual laptops to do the assignment. Day 1 was mandatory and Day 2 was extra credit (it was graded out of 15 points with a possibility of 20 points if Day 2 was completed). In this activity the online virtual lab goes through many different pages which increasingly add more information and questioning. This activity was based on intermolecular forces and what they are as well as the different types. As the activity progressed it began to talk about the affects of intermolecular forces on the boiling and melting points of molecules which is the main factor that should have been addressed.
The activity can be found at __http://ri-itest.concord.org__/ under chemistry activities and the activity is called Intermolecular Attractions. The Rubric is attached. I used this activity as an in-class assignment for more work with intermolecular attractions. I then went over this activity with my students to correct some of the misconceptions.
Are you satisfied with the level of inquiry of this assignment?
4. (and 8) Create a formal assessment. Describe this assessment, including concepts, types of items, and how it was assessed. Include a link to a copy of the assessment here as well.
I am using the unit exam on Lewis Structures, Molecular Geometry, and Intermolecular Forces as my formal (summative) assessment. This exam includes drawing structures, determining molecular geometry, and determining what is the dominant intermolecular force and how it effects the melting/boiling points of a molecule.
The day after the exam I was able to give the exams back and answer questions from students about specific questions as well as mention the more difficult questions that the students had some difficulty with.
6. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your informal assessment or link it here. This description should include the assessment's features, how it addresses different depths of knowledge, as well as an explanation of how it addresses a scientific practice related to inquiry.
DOK 1 - Which of the following formed intermolecular forces?
DOK 3 - Small molecules did not attract well. However, only some of the large ones had a strong attraction. Describe how both size and shape play a role in the strength of the London Dispersion attractions.
This assessment addressing using scientific molecules (models??) . In many of the slides on the virtual lab there are different illustrations of molecules which show areas of partial charge and the effects of the charges on the interactions. There are lots of different scientific models of atoms and molecules to help the students visualize what is actually happening on a molecular level. Do the questions call for students to share their reasoning using the scientific model?
7. & 8. - Already addressed above.
9. For your informal assesssment, upload scans of the work of three or four students. The work of each student should be on a different page. At the bottom of each students' page, you should describe the level of student understanding, e.g. high, average, or low, and describe how this is indicated in their answers. An example of how to do this is here. Note: Remember to name the pages you create carefully, e.g. "Smith S10 - High Performing" instead of "High-Performing."
10 For you formal assessment, describe how you think it addressed the concepts you were trying to assess? How did you modify the assessment to address learning differences or special needs?
Both the formal and informal assessments addressed intermolecular forces. This topic was covered relatively quickly and not as thoroughly as was initially planned because of the flooding so some of the students had more misconceptions than others because there wasn’t time to review because of a quarter deadline. I was hoping to use the informal assessment as a way to find out if students could identify the type of intermolecular force and then build on that to which compounds would have a higher or lower melting/boiling point. The informal assessment did mention melting and boiling points as well as two of the harder questions on the formal assessment had to do with boiling points. While teaching I tried to address the affect of intermolecular forces on the boiling points as much as possible and each assessment addressed that topic. While the students were doing the informal and formal assessments they were able to have extra time after school for either assessment and could work on the informal assessment at home if they wanted.
III. Analysis / Reflection
11. Use both the informal and formal assessments to describe what you learned about what your students understand about these concepts. Use specific examples from both the informal and formal assessment to illustrate your points. What can your students do now that they could not before, and what do they still need to learn?
From evaluating these students I could tell that for the most part the students were understanding the main concepts of the assessment with a few misconceptions. One misconception was the difference between polar and non-polar molecules where one student had then mixed up. For instance one student mentioned that non-polar were charges and polar molecules were not charged. Also, a common misconception was the how the size of a molecule can affect the strength of the intermolecular forces. I believe that most of the students will be able to identify the types of intermolecular forces while some will have difficulties with the difference between polar and non-polar molecules. Also, I feel that some students will have some difficulty with the boiling and melting points because that was mentioned more in Day 2 which was optional and some students did not attempt it. That is the portion that most of the students still need help with; determining which molecule has a higher boiling point.
Good reflection.
12. OMIT
13. For your formal assessment only, select one student characteristic, e.g. ability, gender, age, etc) and compare the relative performance of each group. Hint: Use box and whiskers plots to compare the two groups. What do you conclude from this comparison? Why?
The average on the test for one of my classes was a 70.3; the average for boys was a 67.8 out of 14 boys and the average for the girls was a 77.4 out of 5 girls. There were much more boys in this class that took the test and one girl has yet to take the exam which may have an effect on the averages. Also, one of the boys only attempted answering a few questions and left more than half of the test blank which effects the average of the boys greatly.
How do you interpret this gender difference?
14. Describe any ways in which you invovled students in self-assessment. How did you communicate what you learned from your informal and formal assessments to your students? What did they do with this information?
I didn’t really have the students do a self assessment of their assignments. Normally with my informal assessments I stamp the homework for completion than review the assignment with the class so that the students can fix their work. For this informal assessment I went over the assessment with the class but it was an online assessment so the students did not change their answers; instead they took notes on the misconceptions and asked questions about why or what parts were most important to know. The students used the information to evaluate what they knew and whether or not they would need extra help.
15: Most Important: Compare your objectives for student learning (both in terms of science concepts and practices) to the student learning you observed. What did you learn about your teaching based on the student performances? What will you do differently next time? Why would you make these changes? What, if anything, will you do to improve the assessment instruments?
The student learning that I intended happened for the most part; student began to see how intermolecular forces were responsible for boiling points and what they looked like. The students were also able to see many models of molecules in the informal assessment. I knew when teaching this that the intermolecular forces would be difficult for the students to understand. Next time I would definitely spend a few more days on this topic because of the difficultly. I knew that I could not cover everything to the best of my ability with the short time period that I had because of the cancelled school days because of the flood. My CT and I felt that we needed to go through the topic quicker to get another test grade in for the marking period and then we could mention more on the topic later. The major thing that I would do next time is spend more time with this, I’ve said this a few times but I really feel like I needed to spend a few more days on this topic. Also, I’m not sure if I would use the informal assessment again because some students did not attempt some of the more difficult questions. If I did it again I would either not do the assignment or I would make Day 2 mandatory.
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name:
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
II. Preparation / Development
1. Reflect on your current assessment practices. How have you been determining what students understand and what they are able to do?
Examples of some "higher order questions" would be useful to understand what you're saying.
2. Describe the concept(s) that you are trying to assess in these assignments. Include a link to the appropriate GSE(s) on RIScienceTeachers. Be sure to include in your description your definition, examples of what it is, why students have difficulty with this concept, and why it is important that you teach this topic
Links to GSEs would be nice.
3. (and 7) Describe an informal assessment that you selected, modified, or designed to address this concept. Summarize the instructions you gave your students and Include a link to the informal assessment here as well.
- The informal assessment that I will be using is an online virtual lab called intermolecular attractions. In this activity the students used individual laptops to do the assignment. Day 1 was mandatory and Day 2 was extra credit (it was graded out of 15 points with a possibility of 20 points if Day 2 was completed). In this activity the online virtual lab goes through many different pages which increasingly add more information and questioning. This activity was based on intermolecular forces and what they are as well as the different types. As the activity progressed it began to talk about the affects of intermolecular forces on the boiling and melting points of molecules which is the main factor that should have been addressed.
- The activity can be found at __http://ri-itest.concord.org__/ under chemistry activities and the activity is called Intermolecular Attractions. The Rubric is attached. I used this activity as an in-class assignment for more work with intermolecular attractions. I then went over this activity with my students to correct some of the misconceptions.
Are you satisfied with the level of inquiry of this assignment?4. (and 8) Create a formal assessment. Describe this assessment, including concepts, types of items, and how it was assessed. Include a link to a copy of the assessment here as well.
5. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your formal assessment or link it here.
6. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your informal assessment or link it here. This description should include the assessment's features, how it addresses different depths of knowledge, as well as an explanation of how it addresses a scientific practice related to inquiry.
7. & 8. - Already addressed above.
9. For your informal assesssment, upload scans of the work of three or four students. The work of each student should be on a different page. At the bottom of each students' page, you should describe the level of student understanding, e.g. high, average, or low, and describe how this is indicated in their answers. An example of how to do this is here. Note: Remember to name the pages you create carefully, e.g. "Smith S10 - High Performing" instead of "High-Performing."
Why did student get full credit when he/she did not complete answers on page 2 and 3? Where are your reflections on the students' performance?
Same comment as above.
10 For you formal assessment, describe how you think it addressed the concepts you were trying to assess? How did you modify the assessment to address learning differences or special needs?
III. Analysis / Reflection
11. Use both the informal and formal assessments to describe what you learned about what your students understand about these concepts. Use specific examples from both the informal and formal assessment to illustrate your points. What can your students do now that they could not before, and what do they still need to learn?
- From evaluating these students I could tell that for the most part the students were understanding the main concepts of the assessment with a few misconceptions. One misconception was the difference between polar and non-polar molecules where one student had then mixed up. For instance one student mentioned that non-polar were charges and polar molecules were not charged. Also, a common misconception was the how the size of a molecule can affect the strength of the intermolecular forces. I believe that most of the students will be able to identify the types of intermolecular forces while some will have difficulties with the difference between polar and non-polar molecules. Also, I feel that some students will have some difficulty with the boiling and melting points because that was mentioned more in Day 2 which was optional and some students did not attempt it. That is the portion that most of the students still need help with; determining which molecule has a higher boiling point.
Good reflection.12. OMIT
13. For your formal assessment only, select one student characteristic, e.g. ability, gender, age, etc) and compare the relative performance of each group. Hint: Use box and whiskers plots to compare the two groups. What do you conclude from this comparison? Why?
- The average on the test for one of my classes was a 70.3; the average for boys was a 67.8 out of 14 boys and the average for the girls was a 77.4 out of 5 girls. There were much more boys in this class that took the test and one girl has yet to take the exam which may have an effect on the averages. Also, one of the boys only attempted answering a few questions and left more than half of the test blank which effects the average of the boys greatly.
How do you interpret this gender difference?14. Describe any ways in which you invovled students in self-assessment. How did you communicate what you learned from your informal and formal assessments to your students? What did they do with this information?
15: Most Important: Compare your objectives for student learning (both in terms of science concepts and practices) to the student learning you observed. What did you learn about your teaching based on the student performances? What will you do differently next time? Why would you make these changes? What, if anything, will you do to improve the assessment instruments?
- The student learning that I intended happened for the most part; student began to see how intermolecular forces were responsible for boiling points and what they looked like. The students were also able to see many models of molecules in the informal assessment. I knew when teaching this that the intermolecular forces would be difficult for the students to understand. Next time I would definitely spend a few more days on this topic because of the difficultly. I knew that I could not cover everything to the best of my ability with the short time period that I had because of the cancelled school days because of the flood. My CT and I felt that we needed to go through the topic quicker to get another test grade in for the marking period and then we could mention more on the topic later. The major thing that I would do next time is spend more time with this, I’ve said this a few times but I really feel like I needed to spend a few more days on this topic. Also, I’m not sure if I would use the informal assessment again because some students did not attempt some of the more difficult questions. If I did it again I would either not do the assignment or I would make Day 2 mandatory.
Good reflection.